I Love You!
by x00
Summary: AU. Light was still recovering from getting L as an English teacher when B comes along with memories best forgotten, and their troubles aren't over when a Death Note gets mixed into the fray! LxLight, kid!B. Lighthearted fic.
1. Wonderland

**Author's Note:** Hello! Thank you for clicking on this link to read my Death Note fanfiction! :D Yes, Death Note's finished, but I'll be so happy if anyone reviews! :3

L being a psychologist is only in this fic. This AU is about L having a bunch of odd jobs after all. :) I really want this to be a light-hearted fic, and so this first chapter not being all happy was necessary. I feel as though I stuffed all my plots into this. But it'll get better! :D

**Spoiler Alerts:** L's real name, some events that actually happened in canon. Oh, and Beyond Birthday is in this fic-in a way. :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Death Note.

Chapter one

"Wonderland"

_He wrote in the book frantically, he couldn't get rid of them fast enough. The sound of Ryuk crunching the apple noisier than necessary was annoying, but he ignored it, his pen scribbling on the paper even faster…_

Light's eyes slowly opened. The same dream every time…getting up from the bed, he rubbed at his eyes tiredly while yawning. Resisting the urge to dive back into the warm inviting bed, he walked sleepily toward the bathroom.

* * *

_Fwump. Fwump. Fwump_. Light Yagami's eyes flickered to the tiny panda doll hanging from the car window, attached by a suction cup, bump the window repeatedly before stopping and resting almost serenely on the glass.

The panda.

Light had found that blasted doll from under his bed of all places. He had no idea on how the heck it had got there, so he had given it to Sayu, his little sister. Although Sayu had liked it, the panda being fuzzy and soft to the touch, the panda had gone from hanging on Sayu's window to moving onto the car's. She said that the panda was "creepy", and Light privately agreed; the doll's wide staring eyes always seemed to be following you.

The sound of the GPS shook Light out of his thoughts ("50 kilometers from your destination.") and reminded him of where he was going, and Light had to control his grimace of annoyance and exasperation. He should never have told his father, Soichiro Yagami, about the dreams or his ideas. It wasn't a big deal, but his father had over-reacted, appointing a psychologist to talk to his son.

To say that Light was indignant would be an understatement. He was embarrassed, insulted, that his father thought he had a disorder of some sort. Light had everything, being intelligent and athletic, even having everything in the looks department, so hearing his father saying subtly that he needed professional help was humiliating. At least Soichiro was driving there.

"So," Soichiro Yagami said, looking into the review mirror at Light. Light turned his head in his father's direction to indicate that he was listening. "Anything exciting happening at school?" It was a rather bad conversation starter, in Light's opinion at least.

School was one of the most boring and mundane things in existence. Light had never gotten anything less than a hundred on anything, had been tennis champion, top of the class…the lists of his achievements went on and on. If anything, Light couldn't wait to work in the NPA like his father and follow in his footsteps.

Light, a natural born genius, couldn't say studies were _exciting_. Luckily, something did happen in high school that broke the usual routine.

"My English teacher tripped on the stairs and fell flat on her back yesterday," Light recalled, having been there to witness what happened himself. "She had to go to the hospital. A substitute will be here for the duration of her absence, but no one knows yet how long that'll be."

Soichiro glanced at the review mirror again and furrowed his brow in worry. "Mrs. Nakamura? I hope she's all right."

"She is," Light said reassuringly. "The school announced it a few hours after that the hospital said she would recover."

"That's good," Soichiro said. "A terrible thing to happen to her on Friday though." He hesitated, before saying in a rush, "Light, seeing a psychologist may seem like a waste of time to you, and I know you think it won't help you, but trust me, it will." It seemed that this is what he had wanted to say in the first place.

Light didn't know what to say to that. He looked toward the window, brushing his auburn hair out of his eyes. Light didn't complain when his father had set up the appointment, but Soichiro had probably known what Light was thinking. Well, it did injure to boy's pride.

The sound of the GPS rang out again, and the chief detective turned his attention back to the wheel. Light resisted the urge to slouch in his seat. His brown eyes stared out into the window in silence, wondering if he should start a new conversation with his father, talking about his work, for example. He decided not to, not in the mood to talk.

* * *

"Arrived at the designated destination." the GPS announced, and when the car stopped, Light stepped out.. It was a nice building, and looked like it hadn't been built for very long. He glanced at his watch. He had to go in at nine-thirty, and it was 9:28. He wasn't late, which was good. Light turned back towards his father, who hadn't gotten out of the car yet.

"Bye, Dad," Light called to him, waving. "I'll take the bus home, so don't worry about picking me up." The sun was shining brightly, and the auburn-haired boy raised a hand to his face to shield it from the sun.

Soichiro hesitated. "Are you sure, son? If you give me a call…" He trailed off into silence, unsure of what to say next without sounding like he was talking to a child. Light was seventeen, he knew how to take care of himself. And his son also knew that Soichiro was actually too busy to drop him off back home. Soichiro sighed, guilty that he couldn't do what he was going to suggest.

Light shook his head. "That'll be too inconvenient for you," which Light was secretly thankful for. He really didn't want his father to ask how everything turned out after it was all over. "If you want, I'll call a taxi to get home."

Soichiro gave his son a tired smile, before backing out of the parking lot, and as soon as he left, Light finally let out the grimace he'd been holding since the beginning of the car trip. Shaking his head again with a sigh, he composed his face to a smile before walking into the building.

When the receptionist, whose name was Shidori Takemiya, heard the door open and saw Light walking in, she looked at him interestedly. The boy looked about eighteen, and didn't seem like the sort to have any problems. He was very attractive, but if he was here, he had to have some problem.

"Can I help you?" The Shidori asked, standing up from behind her desk. She tucked a stray strand of dark brown hair behind her ear. She had a pretty heart shaped face that always seemed to be smiling.

"Yes, I have an appointment at 9:30," Light said, looking around. Soft music wafted out from a speaker, and there were a table and sofas with a variety of magazines. But Light couldn't help but notice how many security cameras there were around the place. How odd.

"Follow me," the receptionist said, getting up. Light followed her into a hall.

The receptionist sent him to one of the offices. And when Light stepped in…

….he was in one of the most weirdest rooms he'd ever seen.

The first thing he noticed before even looking inside was the smell. Oh, it wasn't an unpleasant one. Rather, it smelled like the inside of a bakery. Cakes and pies and other sweets' scents mingled together and created a relaxing atmosphere.

The inside didn't look like a psychologist's office at all. There was indeed one of those big, long, padded chairs that were often shown on T.V. when one was talking to a shrink, but it was pushed against the wall like it was a waste of space, and had a couple of smooth silver laptops positioned haphazardly on it, all three of them turned off.

The source of the pleasant aroma was obvious; a variety of sweets were scattered everywhere; candy, cakes, etc. Most of it were piled on a table in the corner of the room, next to a cup of steaming tea and a high pile of sugar cubes, but Light had to avoid stepping on a cake that was just two feet in front of the door.

…This so called "psychologist" ought to have some therapy himself.

Finally, the chessboard in the middle of the room on a coffee table got his attention. He had notice when he first stepped in that the black leather sofas on either side of the table were the only acceptable places to sit, so Light walked toward it, wary of stepping on any wayward pastries.

As Light sat down, he studied the chess board. It looked brand new, and it obviously wasn't cheap. The chess pieces were all elegantly shaped, and all spun of glass. One side of the chess board had black pieces, and the other side was just clear, which Light assumed was white.

And just like in the reception room there were an unusual amount of security cameras, but better hidden.

Who was this psychologist?

Just then, a voice said, "Hello."

The auburn-haired boy spun around to identify who was also present in the room, but there was no one. He saw a flash of white in the corner of his eye, however, that wasn't there before. Light turned to it, and saw that one of the laptops on the chair was now turned on. The white glowing screen had a big gothic looking L in the middle. Light raised an eyebrow. "Hello."

The voice was from the computer. It started again: "I am L. Are you Light Yagami? Then you are my patient." The voice was deep, but it wasn't exactly comforting. It had a mysterious aura. But Light wasn't intimidated. And what was with the 'L'? Did this man think that an alias was cool or something?

Light blinked. The psychologist wasn't even going to be present in the room. But it was apparent that this 'L' did use this room. The sweets everywhere was proof of that.

"You can have any candy you want," the voice offered.

Light looked around at all the candy and pastries, and his stomach turned at the idea of anyone being able to eat even half of all that in one sitting. "No thanks."

"That's a shame. Light-kun-can I call you that?" L asked, his voice coming out of the computer. He didn't wait for an answer, and just went straight to the point. "What is your problem?"

The auburn-haired boy was busy analyzing all of this information in his head. His eyes flickered to all the security cameras-the ones he could find, anyway. His father had said he got one of the best psychologists around, but Light never heard of a psychologist talking from a computer.

Although Light was lost in thought, he didn't let it show in his response. He was mainly preoccupied with how the cameras were positioned, trying to think of a way to get into a blind spot, just for fun. "It's not a big deal," he sighed, tired of having to repeat this phrase over and over. Light lost count of how many times he had told his father. He wondered which camera L was looking at him was.

There was a silence, until the voice replied, "…I see." There was a chewing noise, and a swallow, before L said, "But it is my job to hear it." The voice was emotionless, and it was impossible to decipher what the anonymous man was feeling.

Light leaned back. "It really isn't anything worth coming here. My father is just worried that I might have…a problem with murders." The seventeen-year old boy looked that the laptop defiantly, daring him to say that yes, it was a big deal.

The laptop's screen was just the same as ever, and Light felt some irritation that this psychologist was so unreadable. Dammit, using a computer was cheating! As if to emphasize that Light didn't know the other man at all, L said expressionlessly with a simple, "Continue."

Well, whatever with this unknown person then. You can't really find out anything with just a voice either. He got the impression that this L was pretty young however. Light said, "Well, for months, I'd been having some really strange dreams about me killing criminals."

"Every day?" L asked. Light nodded.

"I've always thought that the world would be better off without some people. Wicked people who commit crimes and causes terror for the innocent."

"That's understandable. Many people think that."

"But no one dreams about killing criminals everyday."

"No, I guess not. So the dreams are the problem." L said, keeping his responses short and to the point. Not a person to beat around the bush. He seemed to want to finish this as quickly as possible.

Light shrugged. "I suppose." If L wanted to get through this fast, then the feeling was mutual.

"Were all your dreams the same?" L asked, pressing Light for more details.

Light was about to answer when the ceiling above creaked. Was there a second story? No, the building didn't look like it…Thinking that he just might just be hearing things, he answered L's question. "Not exactly. When I first got the dreams-this was recently, a few months," the auburn-haired boy said before L would most likely have asked, "The first dream was different, and then it all became the same." He paused, looking directly at the laptop, but when it was all silent, Light went on. "The way I kill criminals is with a black notebook."

"How does a notebook kill anyone?"

"It's called the Death Note, and the human whose name is written down will die," Light said. Huh, he never really thought about it, but now that he did, the response came so naturally to him…weird.

"…I see," L said slowly. Light head a sigh emanating from the computer, almost in a wistful way, before asking, "So in all your dreams, all you do is write names in the Death Note until you wake up?"

"Yes, except for the first dream I mentioned.

"What happens there?" L asked. Light didn't know if he was imagining it, but it seemed that L seemed slightly more interested.

Light was about to speak, when the ceiling creaked again, more loudly, and Light couldn't pass this off as imagination. There was a soft cracking sound, not directly above Light, thank goodness, but a little bit in front of him.

"Oh…" L's voice came from the laptop, but this time Light didn't look at it, instead looking up at the ceiling. "Crap…"

All of a sudden, a loud _bang _sounded in the room, and the part of the ceiling that Light was looking at opened. The ceiling was all tiled, and one of the tiles fell out-Light jumped to his feet, but the tile wasn't falling, it was hanging off the ceiling on, strangely, hinges. The tile creaked as it swung back and forth, but wasn't in the danger of falling off.

But that wasn't important. What was important was when the ceiling tile door-thing opened, something came out with a _whoosh, _and Light saw that it was a person, landing in a sprawled heap on the opposite black leather sofa.

Light stared the person that just came from the ceiling, who was rubbing his neck and continuously muttering, "ow". He had ink black hair, with pale smooth skin, and wide-staring black eyes with dark bags beneath it, as if he'd never had a good-night's sleep in his wasn't sure if he was a boy or a man, but he seemed a little older than Light.

The black-haired boy/man? had apparently recovered from his fall, and positioned himself on the black sofa with his knees up and hunched over. He was dressed simply with a white long-sleeved shirt and dark blue jeans. "Hello," he said as though nothing had happened, and Light managed not to gape. "I am L."

Light blinked. "Wait a minute-you're L?!" he said, and L looked up at him, cocking his head to the side. "You're-you're too young to be a psychologist!" But this guy's voice did sound exactly like the laptop…Light shot a glance at it, but it had shut down, the screen all black.

L looked at Light with his black-rimmed eyes and something about him reminded Light of the panda doll hanging off his father's car. Quickly waving those thoughts away, Light tuned into what L was saying.

"I am not too young. I am twenty-four," L said, shrugging. Light didn't really have a choice that this really was L, the voice was exactly the same. He was also rather relieved that L was older than him by quite a few years. It would have been embarrassing if L was his age. But it he was only twenty-four…

"I am not unlicensed," L said as if guessing what Light was thinking. "I finished college at a young age, and got the Ph.D and all the other requirements."

"How old were you when you finished college?" Light asked, frowning. So he was a genius then…that raised his respects for the black-haired man a bit more.

L shook his head. "It doesn't matter, Light-kun. We are not talking about me." L suddenly dropped his expressionless mask and looked a little smug. "If Light-kun is still curious, he may ask me later. But I will tell him now that when I first graduated, it was before my age was double-digits."

Light was shocked. "Are you kidding? Before you were ten?! How can-"

"Doesn't matter. So what happens in your first dream, the dream that was different than the rest?" L said briskly, going strictly to work-mode.

"Oh," Light blinked, recalling what they were saying before the interruption. But still, the fact that L…the auburn-haired boy could hardly concentrate with the fact that for once there was a person who could be smarter than him. Probably is. But if Light wanted to ask about it, he had to finish. "It's the same as the others, I continue to write names, but then Ryuk-"

"Ryuk?"

"A shinigami that gave me the notebook," Light said dismissively, a bit amazed at how easily they had gone back to how they were talking before. But it was different, with L sitting in front of you and trying to bore holes into your soul. "Anyways, he says that he was always going to write my name in the Death Note eventually, and pulls out his own, and writes my name in. And then…" Light hesitated. "…And then, as I'm dying and closing my eyes, I see an angel…"

…!!!

Light, managed not to gasp, but could not stop his eyes from widening with realization. He had, of course, saw the winged person in his dream, but he couldn't recall the face. Now he could. In his dream, a hunched over man with messy black hair and pale skin, with white feathered wings on his back, had stared at him with blank black eyes…

…Just like the black eyes that were staring at him right now.

_L_.

The angel was L!

How was that possible? Light was positive he'd never seen L before, if his eidetic memory was serving him right. Besides, if he'd ever looked the black-haired man in the eyes, he'd never forget him, with those blank eyes that tried to pry away every secret he had.

Coincidence? Unlikely, but the only possible explanation. But Light had a gut feeling that that wasn't it. Being a logical person by nature, he never really liked 'trusting his gut', but for some reason, however impossible it may seem, Light had a feeling that maybe he did meet L before. Whenever he had tried to picture the angel's face, he always got the faint taste of nostalgia in his mouth, of triumph…and regret? His emotions when he thought about the angel was always in turmoil, so infuriating, so joyful…

"Is Light-kun okay? His face looks white," L said, oblivious to what was going on in Light's head. Curling his toes to grip the edge of his seat, he leaned closer to the auburn-haired male. "Light-kun?"

Light, whose eyes were spaced and glassy, quickly focused back to L and abruptly leaned back when he found L's face much closer to his then expected.

"Yes?" Acting skills came into play. Light did not look defiant as he looked at L, or smile reassuringly. That would have been a dead give-away that something was up. Light really did not feel like saying, 'You're an angel,' because that would sound like he was gay, not to mention just plain awkward.

L waved a careless hand, though his eyes became more alert, still leaning forward by perching on his toes. "You were saying?"

"…And an angel stares at me as I die."

An angel? Is it because it is because you know that murdering, regardless if they are criminals or not, is sin?"

The auburn-haired boy's eyes flashed angrily. "The world is rotten! Some people just deserve to die. It's justice!"

L leaned even closer to Light, causing the younger boy to have his back pressed against the seat to avoid having his personal bubble violated. The black-haired man did not seem to be uncomfortable in any way-even thought his position at the moment made it seem as though he'd fall forward face-first at the slightest shove.

"Light-kun seems to be awfully supportive of the idea of murder. I can see why his father would be worried. Is Light-kun saying that if he did have a Death Note he would do the same as he did in his dreams?" L, with his unrelenting black eyes, seemed to be more of an interrogator than a psychologist.

"What?!" Light was outraged at L's blatant suggestion. "I'm not a murderer, okay? I don't know how anyone can kill that many people and not go insane!"

L finally plopped back into his seat at Light's outburst. He picked up a lollipop off the table with two of his fingers. "No need to be so upset. Back on topic. So this angel dream triggered the rest of your nightmares?"

"They're not nightmares…" Light muttered, nodding sullenly. He shouldn't lose his temper like that…what was he thinking? L just seemed good at provoking him.

"Hmmm…I wonder why the dream of you dying was first, then the rest. That seems out of order…" L mumbled, looking up with his thumb in between his lips. He waved the lollipop distractedly with his other hand as he mused. "Perhaps that dream came first to symbolize that you knew what you were doing was wrong…A warning? Or maybe your fate…no…" his mumblings became less and less audible until there was silence. Shaking his hair out of his eyes, L addressed Light again abruptly. "Did you see how the angel looked liked? I mean, its expression?"

Light decided to lie. The angel L's expression had been emotionless, but his mouth had been turned down in a frown, but if Light told L that, he might have to describe the "angel."

"No, I can't remember how the angel looked at all."

"Then do you think it was significant? What do you think it symbolized?" The black-haired man's tone made Light wonder if L knew he was lying.

This time, Light decided to be honest. "I don't know."

"I see…"

"…" The psychologist and patient were both silent as L thought.

"…….." When Light thought he couldn't take the silence anymore, L suddenly smiled. That surprised Light. The smile made L seem more…approachable, more normal. Warmer than the aloof air the psychologist seemed to always gave out. "I now know Light-kun's problem and the solution," he announced. Light blinked in surprise. Already? "Light-kun has…" L paused for dramatic effect. "…no problem at all!" The black-haired man shot the puzzled Light a thumbs-up.

Light was stunned. Running a hand through his hand, he wondered if he heard right. Though Light had already thought up of all the possible things that would happen after this session, he hadn't expected this… "Really? Are you sure?" This was better than he could have ever hoped for.

L had stuffed the lollipop into his mouth so his voice became muffled. "Yesh, I am shoor." The lollipop stick waggled wildly as he spoke.

Light couldn't help but grin. "I'm glad you understand." L was seriously the smartest person Light had ever met. Bit the auburn-haired boy's smile faded as he said, "But what about the dreams?" Probably some kind of sleeping pill that gave you dreamless sleep.

The black-haired man waved Light's words away, as if he couldn't care less. "Light-kun won't have any more dreams. The one he dreamt last night was the last one."

"How can you be so sure?" Light raised an eyebrow. L sounded very confident in his conclusion. Indeed, the other man was now looking away from Light, toward the ceiling in while the tile was still hanging, as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. The problem couldn't have just been solved with Light just talking about it…

"Because I am L."

Because he was L? That was the worst explanation in the history of worst explanations. Speaking of which, that can't his real name.

Ignoring the almost disturbing lack of information, Light decided to let it drop. The auburn-haired boy had a sneaking suspicion that L knew more than he was letting on, but Light didn't really care, as long as he was free from this place, and L would almost certainly never tell him.

"So, 'L'," Light said, putting more emphasis on the black-haired man's supposed name. Light glanced at his watch. 9:52. They hadn't been talking very long, had they? Light should've just leaped out the door as soon as they finished, but couldn't resist his curiosity. "What's your real name?"

"L." L looked at Light, widening his eyes innocently. Light frowned.

"Really, what's your name?"

"L."

The auburn-haired boy resisted the urge to sigh. This man was extremely irritating. "What's your last name then?" he asked. Really, if L said 'L' again…

"Lawliet."

Light glanced at the psychologist, almost startled to hear him say an answer that sounded more believable. "Your name is L Lawliet?" Surprisingly, if fit the black-haired man.

The other man nodded, apparently not having anymore to say. His eyes were calculating as he looked at Light, and Light knew that L was more intelligent than his appearance suggested. Which reminded the younger boy about L promising he'd answer the college question.

"How old were you when you graduated college?" Light asked.

L glanced at the table with the pile of sweets and sighed, remembering what he had said as well. Tearing his gaze reluctantly back towards Light, he answered, "Nine."

Just as L had predicted, Light's brown eyes widened. "Nine?! How-"

"Light-kun does not need to be so modest," L said, and Light couldn't tell whether L's tone was being sarcastic or not. "Light-kun could have easily achieved the same had he been presented the opportunity." Giving the sweets another longing glance, L sighed, too lazy to actually get up to reach them, he picked up a stray sugar cube with his fingers. His hand brushed against a chess piece, and he looked down. "Does Light-kun wish to play?" L asked. He had a feeling Light had a lot of questions and was rather uncomfortable to answer them all.

Luckily, it seemed to distract Light. The brown-eyed boy's eyes lit up. "You're on."

Unluckily, like L, Light seemed to be skilled at multitasking. If anyone else saw the scene, if would seem that L and Light were simply chatting like old chums. It looked as though L and Light didn't even look at the chess pieces as they moved them. But both of them were playing their hardest.

Light, thankfully, didn't ask as many questions as anticipated. L actually enjoyed talking with the boy, which was a miracle all by itself. L didn't like talking to anyone really, save Watari, so to enjoy company with a seventeen-year old boy was a surprise, but a pleasant one.

The conversation that L enjoyed the most with Light was the one about the law system. The black-haired man had realized that the two were almost alike, yet there couldn't be two more different people.

"…but Light-kun, murder is still murder." L said, moving his pawn forward, still continuing the argument about justice.

"People who are guilty and should be persecuted roam free out on the street thanks to people with your sense of so-called justice," Light said, moving his knight out of the way.

L didn't answer, instead moving his rook five spaces. He looked up, and Light stiffened when he saw a smirk on the pale man's face. "Check," L announced.

Light looked down and widened his eyes. "Crap," he hissed under his breath, and ceased talking for once, frowning in concentration. After a moment, his face smoothed out, and L wondered what the Yagami boy was up to now.

* * *

"Check-mate." Light announced, smirking. But it had been a close match. L was certainly a formidable foe.

L looked up, blinking. "Congratulations," he said simply. He stirred his tea, which he somehow got Light to retrieve for him.

Light looked pleased himself. But then he narrowed his eyes. L looked up at the sudden change of expression.

"Wait a minute…" Light said slowly. "…You didn't _let_ me win, now didn't you?"

The black-haired man's eyes looked painfully innocent. "What is Light-kun saying? I tried my hardest." Which was true. Until he pretended to slip up. For some reason, L had wanted to let Light win. Which was completely irrational, as L hated to lose. "Light-kun was the toughest opponent I ever had."

Light stared at him for a long moment, before abruptly setting up the pieces again on the chess board. "I want a rematch."

L sighed, looking at Light almost fondly. "As much as I enjoy Light-kun's company, it is getting late, isn't it?"

The auburn-haired boy looked at his watch. One-forty-seven. Time went fast. "Oh, you're right. I should get going. It was fun, L."

L nodded. "Likewise."

Getting up, Light reached the door. He paused, before turning around back to L. It was his first time meeting someone who could keep up with him. "Good-bye. Thanks for the…help." Light blinked in surprise, having had forgotten why he was in the room in the first place.

Dropping his sugar cube into his tea, L looked up at Light and smiled again. When L smiled, he looked kind of…cute. With huge eyes, the way he sat…Light tuned into what L was saying. "Yes, Light-kun. I hope we see each other very soon." His dark blank eyes were mesmerizing.

Light smiled back, and walked out the door, shutting it gently. L smiled even wider. The auburn-haired boy did not even notice that one of the glass chess pieces was missing.

When Light went back home, he put his hands into his pockets and was confused when his hand wrapped around a cold glass object. He pulled it out. It was a black chess piece. The king.

Somewhere in the world, a pale, black-haired child opened his blood-red eyes. Kira eyes. And for some strange reason neither could fathom, L and Light felt a bit lighter.

* * *

Thank you for reading! It'll get better after this. :)


	2. Kira? No

Thank you SOOO much for your reviews! I'm so happy! :D And this fiction is a bit like an alternate time-line...in a way. :D

Thank you for reading! :)

This chapter is kind of short, but it was necessary for it to be just in one chapter. Sorry! But please enjoy! :D

* * *

Chapter 2

"Kira? No."

* * *

The next days for Light had its ups and downs. Namely, many ups and one big down.

When Light had first come back, he said to his family that the psychology session had gone well, and that he had no need to go anymore. His father had seemed surprised and a little doubtful of Light's vague answers (After all, Light wasn't so sure himself) but decided to test if L's theory was true, and Light's dreams really would magically stop.

And Light was feeling rather blissful, although he had no idea why. It was as if a huge weight that Light had not been aware of was lifted off his shoulders, and the auburn haired boy could not help but revel in it

Why Light was feeling this, he could not fathom, but he had noticed that he had felt this feeling of ecstasy gradually escalate as soon as had walked out of L's room.

Weird, was what Light thought. It had been nice to talk to L for sure, and Light felt a little rueful that someone whom he was intellect matched with was now out of his life. It wasn't a big feeling, more like a 'I should have bought this while it was on sale,' kind of feeling, and Light brushed it off. It had been great playing chess with him and all, but that had been it.

At least, that was what Light thought, until his hand had absentmindedly slipped into his pocket and pulled out the damn chess piece.

Light must have had stared at the black glass figure for five minutes before shaking it out of it and realizing that he had to return it.

If it had been any other plain chess piece, Light would have shrugged it off and forgot about it, but L's game pieces looked painfully expensive and custom-made. And then Light had wanted to bang his head on his desk when he realized that the stupid chess set was actually from a museum in England.

How had Light taken the king anyway? His hands had not been in his pockets for the entire duration of the psychologist session. Nor did he so much as lifted any chess pieces four inches above the board. Which meant…

L, that bastard. He must have slipped it into Light's pocket. For what reason, Light didn't know, but if this was L's way of handing someone his phone number…That was just sad. Really. Especially because when Light had called the clinic where L worked, the receptionist had informed him that Dr. Lawliet had resigned, and no one knew where he went.

L had freaking quit. As soon as Light had left, L had apparently walked out the door as well.

So why did L give Light that chess piece anyway? If he was just going to quit, then why bother? Euurgh, how infuriating. Light rubbed his temples with his fingers. L must be extremely rich if he could afford to just casually give Light a chess piece from a set worth about $100,000 in UK currency.

The auburn-haired boy had researched it on the internet to see its worth. The exact date of origin was unknown, but it had belonged to a nameless noble family. It was locked away in a vault apparently untouched, until it was found and sold to the museum. The museum's website that an L Lawliet had bought it sixteen years ago.

Light certainly had to return the piece now. But how… The auburn-haired boy could not help but feel guilty, even if it wasn't his fault. Way for L to ruin Light's happy feeling, intentional or not. At least he had been correct that Light would not have the dreams anymore. Light liked that he could peacefully sleep now.

The auburn haired boy pushed L out of his mind as the weekend progressed, reassuring himself that if he got the chance, he would return L the glass figure. But honestly, Light was expecting to never see L again.

So Light got a very big surprise come Monday morning…

* * *

"…_You'll fall in love with me!"_

L's eye twitched as he listened to the same song for about the millionth time. To be precise it was forty-seven times, but who's counting? As much as L liked Misa Amane, no one could listen to her song forty-seven times and not find it plain annoying after.

In the hotel room he was staying at, L had not bothered to turn on the lights, so the glow of the computer screens were the only sources of illumination in the dark room. The windows had poured out sunshine when L first sat down, but now the moon shone from the windows.

L pushed the laptop with Misa Amane's song blasting repeatedly and turn to another laptop which was as equally boring. Pushing his thumb between his lips, he pulled off his headphones with his other hand. He was doing two jobs at once, editing a game he was programming, while editing an anime opening theme.

The anime was a "magical girl" one, with annoyingly optimistic main characters that had long pink hair and a magic wand. The theme song was sung by none other than the celebrity Misa Amane. Hence why L had been listening to her for the past hour and a half.

The work L had to do for the opening theme wasn't hard, but it wasn't interesting at all. The black-haired man had worked on countless magical girl anime and this was no different.

Actually, the most fun L ever had doing a job like this was when a company hired him to fix up a yaoi anime. L had been pretty amused. It wasn't something you worked in every day. He even got a two action figure set of the two main characters (Boys, of course) for free, which you could bend into twelve different screwing positions. He still had them somewhere. And despite what Mello said, L was not a closet yaoi fan. After all, the black-haired man didn't even open up the box yet.

L typed on the game he was editing, abandoning the anime theme. Stupid game-testers. The complained that the game L programmed was 'too hard' and that they couldn't even get past the tutorial. L had purposely made the game easy, and Matt had been able to finish it in an hour and a half. Well, Matt was a genius like L and the game was for 'normal people,' so perhaps that was a bad comparison.

L wondered why he even bother making the game if he was going to make it so easy. He mentally winced at it and thought a child could finish it with his eyes closed. But when L was a child, he was smarter than most adults, so that wasn't a good comparison either.

For a moment there was silence in the luxury hotel suite except for the _tap tap tap _of the keyboards. This was so boring that L was beginning to wonder why he came to Japan. Being a prosecutor was fun…It was that L got paranoid of being around criminals. Although it was fun watching a grown man cry when the judge declared that the defendant was guilty. But being around criminals and possibly making enemies made L paranoid. Better safe than sorry. Which was why L had quit being a criminologist.

The silence was broken when there was footsteps and L looked over his shoulder to see Quillsh Wammy with another cart of sweets. L widened his eyes and took a cake eagerly.

As soon as the black-haired man dug into the strawberry shortcake, Wammy, or Watari was he was sometimes called, gave a small cough. This caused L to look up, who had cream all over his face.

"You've been in a good mood lately, L," the old man remarked. "Anything good happened?" Although L had been acting pretty much the same, Watari had noticed that L had been acting more light and like he had dropped a huge burden. L had not expressed this in anyway, but the old man just knew.

Wammy had been with L since the black-haired man was eight, and being with someone for that long had allowed Wammy to be more empathetic towards the now twenty-four year old man.

L blinked, and in the darkness with only the soft glow from the computer screens, his hair looked stark black against his pale skin, the dark bags under his eyes looking even darker. However, with this…vibe Watari was getting from the dark-eyed boy, Watari could not say that L looked tired or eerie. L looked more carefree than he had in years.

"No, nothing in particular," L said, turning his attention back to typing, while scooping more cake into his mouth.

Watari smiled fondly. "I see." The old man peered down at the computer screens. "Is it all going well?"

The black-haired man sighed. "I suppose you can say that."

Watari pushed his glasses up, readjusting them to the bridge of his nose. "You seem rather unenthusiastic about it," he noted. "I thought we came to Japan because of the anime."

"Yes, I did. Working with two dimensional fictional characters is a nice change of pace. That was why I quit being a psychologist here. I could go to America if I wanted to do that."

It was a plausible enough answer as to why L had resigned. L had really quit because after meeting Light, he realized that he had finished his purpose in that field, as corny as that sound. And to solidify that belief, he gave Light the chess piece.

Watari didn't really seem to believe L's excuse, but after seeing L's emotionless face for two minutes, he accepted it. L was a good liar. Not really anything to be proud of, but it came in handy most of the time.

"But L…" Watari said, slightly hesitant. "About your newest career…Are you sure? You had many occupations, but you never wanted to do something like this."

L could tell the truth this time. "I want to try. Even as a temporary replacement. In fact, it is exactly because it is temporary that I want the job." L finished the cake and began attacking the jelly beans. "This isn't the kind of job where you can resign after you finished what you were hired for. You must do it all year. And suppose I couldn't handle it," L widened his dark-rimmed eyes. "That is why I should take advantage of this job being temporary."

Watari smiled. "Well, I wish for the best, L."

* * *

Miheal Keehl was expecting an answer, the Kira-eyed child noted. Well, this boy introduced himself as Mello, despite that the letters 'Miheal Keehl' floated above his head. So the Kira-child better start calling him that to not arouse suspicion.

Roger Ruvie, Mail Jeevas, and Nate Rivers were also staring at him curiously. Well, except for the Nate boy, or as he called himself, 'Near.' Near had no emotion on his face as he looked at the Kira-child while playing with a Rubik's Cube.

"So who are you?" Mihe-Mello asked again. He looked like a girl, the Kira-child thought, his red eyes flashing in amusement. His eyes were what make everyone wary of him in the first place so he looked down.

Mello made a small noise of irritation at the back of his throat at the child's frustrating lack of response, and Mail, no Matt, intervened.

"Come on, Mello," the redhead said. "Maybe he's just confused. I mean, he just woke up and all." Matt seemed less interested in him now and pulled out a game console.

"Yes, I agree," Roger, who was the only one honest about his name, said. The old man smiled at the unknown child "If you'd like, you can stay here until we locate your parents," he said kindly and asked, "Where are they?"

The child squirmed uncomfortably. "…I don't have…" he mumbled quietly. His black hair covering his red eyes. He shifted his weight on the bed he was sitting up on, crossing his ankles tightly.

There was a silence, with the four others looking at him knowingly. Not sympathetically, but knowing how the child was feeling all the same.

The three teenagers irked the Kira-child. He couldn't see the life-spans of any of them. He could only see their names. Who were those three? He could see Roger and the other kids' life-spans just fine, so what was wrong.

The three, the blond and redhead fifteen, and the white-haired boy thirteen, did sort of ring a bell, the Kira-child thought. Vaguely. Was it this strange faint familiarity that kept him from knowing the teens' life-spans?

Mello was the first one to break the silence. "Well, you came to the right place," he said, and despite how emotional he could get, the Kira-child could not tell if Mello was being sarcastic or not. "Welcome to Wammy's House."

"Mello," Roger chided. "Behave yourself and thing about his feelings." Addressing the unknown child again, he asked, "Do you have any relatives or foster parents?" The child shook his head no.

"Well, the kid's not helping at all," Mello said. Pulling out a chocolate bar from his pocket, he unwrapped it and bit off a chunk with a loud _snap_. "He won't even explain what he was doing passed out in the woods!"

Matt rolled his eyes, and then focused back to his game. "He said he wandered around and got lost, didn't he?"

Near spoke for the first time. "But Mello has a point." The Kira-child looked at him with mixed emotions. The child was surprised at the murderous fury he felt against the white-haired boy, but the feeling had gone away as quickly as it had appeared. Near twirled a strand of hair with his index finger while he talked. "Why were you out on Wammy's House grounds in the first place?"

The child was about to open his mouth to answer, but Roger beat him to it. "Don't make the poor boy uncomfortable. It's lucky he found this place," the old man said as he headed for the door. As he stepped out of the room, he called out over his shoulder, "I'm going to call the Wammy staff to prepare a room. Pleas keep him Company until then, Mello, Near, Matt." The door swung shut. _Click._

As soon as the door closed, another awkward silence ensued. In an attempt to defuse the tension, Matt commented, "Doesn't he look a lot like L?" The redhead scrutinized the pale black-haired child closely.

Near nodded while playing with his Rubik's Cube again. "I noticed that as soon as I saw him."

"Oh, did you now?" Mello said, nearly growled, at Near. The hatred was evident on Mello's face. When the white-haired boy didn't respond, the blond teen turned to the Kira-child, who sat there stiffly. "Maybe he's related to L."

Matt snickered under his breath while mashing muttons on his PSP. "Maybe. The kid's not even telling us his name. For all we know, he could be."

Mello narrowed his eyes slightly. "Awfully convenient for you to come here of all places," he murmured suspiciously to the eight-year old child, who was slowly becoming more and more frozen at the mention of L. "Just who are you?" Mello asked for the third time.

The Kira-child hesitated before abruptly stand up, gaining all three orphans' attentions. The Kira-child looked to the side where a mirror hung from the wall, and stared at his reflection. Pale skin, black hair, lanky, with murderous red eyes, giving him the air of someone to be wary of. Squeezing his eyes shut, he concentrated for a moment, and his eyes changed color to a bright innocent brown, lifting up the 'evil' aura and gave the impression that the Kira-child was care free and innocent, how a child should be at eight years.

Eyes flickering back to red, he continued to stare at his reflection. The Kira-child couldn't see his own life-span, which was natural; it was against the rules for a human(Human? Was that what he was?) with Shinigami Eyes to be able to. But he couldn't see his own name either. He didn't have a name yet to call his own…

So what could be his name? _Kira_, was what first came to the child's mind as a memory that wasn't his sprang up, and suddenly L's black eyes were the only thing he could see as L had fallen out of his chair, while the black-eyed detective finally confirmed that he had been right all along-_You are Kira…_

But his name could also be L, as he watch Kira(? Yagami Raito?) closed his eyes, blood still seeping form the bullet wounds alone on the staircase. And suddenly, the thought to say that he was L was dangerously alluring to him. And that desire to that sudden temptation mad him realize that he was someone else entirely.

The Kira-child smiled, and he turned his face to Miheal Keehl, Mail Jeevas, and Nate Rivers, who were all still looking at him. The Kira-child could see out of death eyes for as long as he could remember, which was why-

"My name," The black-haired child said, still smiling, "is Beyond Birthday."

Beyond Birthday looked into the mirror again, and sure enough, the name, 'Beyond Birthday' were now floating above the eight-year old child's head.

* * *

A/N- Okay, I know a bunch of you is going like O.O right now, but stay with it for now! :) I know it's kinda weird, but I had already planned for an L-look alike with red eyes to appear in the story, and then I remembered B. So yeah...


	3. School Life

**A/N:** Finally got the next chapter out!

L may seem a bit OOC. But well…it's not so bad. J

I don't own Death Note!

* * *

Chapter three

"School life"

"Light-kun remembers me?" L asked with mock happiness, but with his voice as flat as ever. With two fingers, he reached into the packet and pulled out another Panda March biscuit.

"We've seen each other just two days ago," Light said, wondering just how the heck L had convinced him to eat lunch with him on the rooftop.

Well, earlier that morning…

Light knew something was wrong the moment a group of school girls were giggling about the new English teacher.

Light wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but he couldn't help it when all the seniors were laughing about how _young_ and _smart_ and _funny_ he was. Really. Though the 'funny' seemed more like 'eccentric', based on what Light was hearing.

The auburn-haired boy had English right before lunch block, and for some reason, he felt a strange sense of foreboding. Idly staring at a book without reading it, he waited while all his peers struggled with the math test, which he had finished before anyone else.

In what felt like an eternity, the bell finally rang, and Light went to his locker. Stuffing his other textbooks, he grabbed the books he needed before going into English. Before reaching the classroom, a boy, Fukito, stopped him.

"Light!" The boy yelled, running up to him. Light looked at him.

"Hey," he said back, stopping. "What's up?"

Fukito also stopped in front of him, slightly panting. He looked up at him with an expression Light was familiar with. Great. "I forgot to do my History homework and I have History right now! Can I copy yours?" He begged.

Light was already digging in his bag and handed Fukito a folder. "Give it back after lunch," he said.

Fukito thanked him and ran off to copy it. Light had a few more interruptions like that as he walked down the corridor. Well, as one of the more popular people at school that was to be expected. Needless to say, however, Light was relieved to finally reach his classroom. And then his heart nearly stopped after seeing the teacher.

The teacher was hunched over, crouching down on his chair. He had his face planted right on top of his desk, completely covering his face and had a mop of messy black hair flopped out on his desk.

'L?' Light thought in a daze before quickly snapping out of it and quickly moving out of the doorway, to the last row next to the window. When there was some distance between him and L, Light stared at the 'teacher' again. After all, Light could always be wrong…

Don't be silly, Light's never wrong. Though for once, he wishes he was. There was no mistaking L's ink black hair, or the strange way he sat. Nor the pile of sugar cubes where a normal teacher might put an apple. So L quit psychology to be an English teacher substitute? Or was he stalking Light? After a second of consideration, Light decided that L wasn't. After all, no one would quit a high paying psychology job to be a teacher…Wait, why was Light even entertaining that ridiculous notion? It was just coincidence. Probably. After all, Light and L had only met once.

Light didn't know whether he was lucky or not that L was here. He could return the stupid chess piece now. Tomorrow, since he had left it at home. The classroom was slowing filling up, and L finally lifted his head off the desk and blinked his dark black eyes. L tugged at his clothes, which wasn't the outfit Light saw L wearing at the clinic. Instead, the black-haired man was wearing a white dress shirt untucked, with a black jacket. It was rumpled and slightly wrinkled, as if L couldn't care less to what happened to it. He still wore jeans, but they were darker and not as baggy. To top it off, he had also wore a black tie, but it was tied on incorrectly. L looked more like a delinquent student here rather than a teacher.

The classroom went a notch quieter as L spun around on the swivel chair a few times before hopping off, and pointed to the board, where 'Rue Ryuuzaki' was messily scrawled. Hunched over, he walked a few steps closer to his students.

"Hello. I am Ryuuzaki," was what the black-haired man said. Light didn't know what to think to that. So was 'L' really 'Ryuuzaki' and he was lying about his name? That was what the auburn-haired boy had suspected in the beginning, that L was not his name. But…Euurgh, L/Ryuuzaki Rue was giving him a headache.

The teacher continued, "I am to be your substitute until your real teacher comes back. I hope to teach you the English language, as well as being able to bond with you all." This all sounded rehearsed, and if the slight pause 'Ryuuzaki-sensei' gave before saying the word "bond" was anything to go by, the black-haired man obviously didn't give a damn about bonding or whatever else nonsense he was spewing.

A boy who was secretly texting messages to his girlfriend said loudly, "Are you even old enough to be a teacher?"

L (Light decided to call him that until he actually learned his real name) looked at the boy and the student stiffened at looking at L's pitch black eyes. L simply said, "I am twenty-four," before turning to his textbook and flipping to the right page.

"Whoa, twenty-four? I thought he was at least twenty or something…Thought twenty-four is pretty young…" another classmate mumbled to the boy who had spoken. L cleared his throat, and the students all looked in his direction.

"Turn to page 243 and translate the sentences…" L murmured, before sitting on his chair in his weird position and snacking on sugar cubes. The students began to sift through their own books for the right page.

A horrible thought suddenly struck Light. Suppose L told anyone about the psychology session? Oh no…Light clenched his pencil tightly with his hand, breaking the lead and leaving a pencil mark on his paper. Hastily erasing it, he glanced at L, hoping to be secretive, but L caught his gaze and smiled. Light dropped his eyes quickly, but out of the corner of his gaze he saw L's smile become even wider.

The time could hardly be slower…The auburn-haired boy idly doodled at paper, hoping to look busy when he finished it all easily. Light could only thank his screwed-up stars that today was just a day to finish an assignment that nothing that could cause attention to himself. The auburn-haired boy felt anxious for class to be over to tell L not to tell anyone else about their previous meeting.

Finally the bell rang and Light's classmates all chattered at once, many rushing into the cafeteria to quickly buy their lunch. Light dawdled until the last of the students dwindled out, and quickly marched straight up to L, who hadn't moved.

L's eyes lit up. "Light! How nice to see you." The black-haired man was now speaking in English. He didn't have an accent at all.

Light refrained from rolling his eyes, but humored L by also replying in English, "Hello, L. If that's your real name, that is," The auburn-haired boy replied.

L stuck his thumb between his lips and reverted back to Japanese. "Light-kun speaks very fluently," he murmured. His eyes flickered back to the clock on the wall, and back to Light again. "I'm hungry. I am going to lunch now. Bye-bye, Light-kun."

"Wait!" Light called out, and L turned back to the teen. Light continued, "What are you doing here?"

The teacher sighed, tugging on his collar again before reaching down on the floor and pulling out a bundle wrapped in a pink cloth. It appeared to be his lunch. "I shall explain…If Light-kun would like to have lunch with me?"

Light blinked. "Okay…," he said hesitantly.

Oh, that's how he was eating lunch on the rooftop with L, Light remembered while playing with his rice, trying to make it seem less by gathering it all in one corner of the bento box. L watched him while chewing on another Panda March biscuit.

L spoke again. "I understand Light-kun has some more questions?" Dropping the now empty box of Panda March back into his pink bundle of food, he reached in and took out some mochi, unwrapping them with long pale fingers.

Light nodded and refrained from narrowing his eyes. "Yes," the auburn-haired boy said shortly.

The black-haired man rolled his eyes, with irritated Light, but decided not to say anything. L, who had the ball of mochi clenched between his teeth, was now undoing his tie. As soon as the black tie was on the ground and the mochi in his stomach L said, "Well, my real name is really L. I called myself a Japanese name to draw as little attention as possible to me."

The auburn-haired boy raised an eyebrow. "I suppose I have no choice but to believe you."

"You don't trust me?" The black-haired man said innocently.

Not at all, Light thought inwardly. Out loud he said, "I suppose I just got a bad second impression on you." He discarded his disposable chopsticks into his bento box.

"First impressions are more important," L said absently, and the pair remained in an almost comfortable silence for a while, enjoying the slight breeze. Remembering why Light had sought after L, the auburn-haired boy started with a jolt. L flickered his eyes at Light's sudden movement. "Yes?" The black-haired man asked.

Light looked at L. "Ah, well, you know how I met you at psychology? I'd appreciate if you didn't tell anyone about it."

L tilted his head toward the younger boy. "Come again?"

The auburn-haired boy sighed unhappily. "You know. However unlikely it may seem, in case it pops up, just don't mention it." If his friends found out about it, Light would never be treated the same again. It wasn't as though he'd care about it if his friends' acceptances were all he was going to get. No, it was just more convenient if everyone saw him as perfect Light Yagami…

But now the way L was smiling at Light made the teen wonder whether he had made a mistake. Because the way L was smiling-scratch that, he was donning a wide grin that would have put the Cheshire Cat to shame. Not those near adorable little smiles L had given Light, but a creepy big grin that made a shiver go down Light's spine.

"I see…" L said slowly, still grinning in that creepy way. Light edged a bit away from him. The black-haired man dropped the remainder of his food in his pink blanket before bundling it up again, the bundle now noticeably smaller. Looking at Light again, L's grin transformed into a smirk. "Well then…maybe Light-kun and I could simply…hang out today?"

Light was taken aback. "Wha-? Hang out? Why?" Geez, L was so confusing! And Light didn't like L's creepy grin or smug smirk at all.

"I just want to get to know Light-kun better," L said with an air of innocence that he didn't possess at the moment. Looking away into the sky, so Light only saw his profile, L tapped a finger to his lips. "How about at the café at the corner at three-thirty?"

Now what was L rambling about? This man just jumped from train to train randomly and Light tried to keep up through L's continual changes of subjects. But why L wanted to suddenly spend time with Light was beyond him. "I have cram school," Light said as an excuse. He didn't want to go anywhere with this panda man. Especially with him being so forward.

L just shook his head. "Excuses, excuses. Just don't go!" he said brightly. A teacher recommending a student not to study harder?

"Are you a teacher or not? I can't just skip!" Light nearly hissed.

"I told you already," L insisted. "Just don't go. Because I said so. I asked the school to be able to tutor you privately, and seeing my degrees and whatnot, the principle said it was a-ok! Today could be our 'tutor-get-to-know-each-other-day!'"

Light's brown eyes widened. "You did what?"

The black-haired man sighed. "I said-"

"I heard what you said! Just why would you ask to tutor me?"

L's black eyes widened and he talked with his thumb in his mouth, "You scored the highest in your practice exams. I was intrigued." Which was a good enough excuse. L didn't need to tell the auburn-haired boy everything.

Light didn't say anything, just getting up. And apparently giving up as well. "Fine, I meet you at three-thirty. Bye, L." Crumpling up his bento box, he threw it into the garbage can before going back downstairs.

* * *

"And Light-kun acts just like I knew he would! I can't shake the suspicion that I've met him before though," L said, talking in his phone while continually glancing out the door of the café.

"I see," Watari said, while driving back to their hotel after dropping L off. For such a genius, L did not seem to realize that he had basically been repeating himself for the last twenty minutes.

Thankfully at that point, L's voice through the phone crowed, "There's Light-kun now! Light-kun!" The old man could almost hear L waving.

"Bye, L," Watari said and a murmur of a good bye was heard before the 'click' of him hanging up.

The old man shook his head in wonder while exiting the freeway. Just what was up with L's obsession with this Light boy anyways?

* * *

The meeting with L in the café turned out to be pretty enjoyable. Light was surprised to find that he was actually feeling quite comfortable in the older man's company. Perhaps 'comfortable' wasn't actually the correct word however, as the causal conversation the two were having were quickly turning into a psychological game.

Light was getting more and more involved until his phone rang and broke his concentration. Usually Light kept his phone in his pocket, but today he had stuffed it into his bag and never got the chance to place it into a more easier place to get. Which the auburn-haired boy regretted as he rushed to get his cell phone out. By the time Light finally got the said object out, the phone had stopped calling, and a 'You have one new voice mail,' flashed across his screen. It was his mother.

Light glanced at L, who hadn't even blinked. L could be rather ruthless when he wanted to, however, as example of the conversation the two just had. Light muttered apologetically, "Excuse me," before listening to the voice mail.

_"Light dear,"_ his mother's voice said. _"Remember that trip to Hokkaido that me and the women were going to go? Well, the flight got pushed early and there was no time but to pack up in a hurry. I'm at the airport right now. So I won't be at home for about a week. That's all. Love you, dear. See you in a week."_

Light listened to the mail and his eyes widened. Throwing the phone on the table, he rifled through the contents of his bag again and checked his pockets, and sighed frustratingly when he couldn't find what he was looking for. L looked at Light.

"What is it?" L asked, and Light couldn't help but groan.

"My mother just called, and she's flying to Hokkaido right now. My dad is working at Osaka and won't be home tonight and Sayu borrowed my house keys the other day and I didn't get it back." Light half-heartedly began to pack everything back neatly into his bag and slipped his phone into his pocket.

L stared. "Ask Sayu-72.46% chance she's your sister- for your key," he said blankly. The black-haired man wondered why Light was getting so panicky and decided that maybe it wouldn't be so easy for Light to get his house keys.

Light looked at L through his auburn colored bangs. "I don't even know where she is. She's at a slumber party now with her friends." Light was already planning to call one of his friends to stay over for a night. It wasn't very preferable but he had no choice.

L just shrugged. "Light-kun can stay with me, if he wants." The black-haired man scooped the rest of his cake into his mouth.

Light couldn't believe what he had just heard. "What?"

"I'm staying at a hotel at the moment, and I haven't even visited all the rooms my suite has. It's no bother if Light-kun stays."

"Why would you do that?" Light couldn't help but ask. Sure, perhaps as personal tutor it was acceptable to chat over tea but said tutor/teacher asking his student to stay with him is a bit of a stretch. And did L just say hotel?

"What kind of a friend would I be if I let Light-kun just have unnecessary trouble when I could easily help him with no effort on my part?"

Now we're friends? Light thought mentally. That was it. Light gave up. L was simply to puzzling to understand. Although Light was hesitant, he really had no alternative, and accepting L's offer was the best solution to this situation.

"Sure, L. Thanks."

* * *

Light was really lagging behind now, L noted, looking back to the auburn-haired boy. Light was walking at a very slow pace, seemingly reluctant to walk besides him. So L just stood there and waited while Light caught up.

To be honest, L had no idea why he was going so far for Light. L had tried to find a logical explanation as to why he was so content in the younger boy's company but had come up with nothing. For some reason, talking to Light made L feel almost giddy, like meeting up with a long lost friend. Though when L first met Light, something uneasy stirred underneath, something darker and sadder…But when Light stopped dreaming about murdering, the dark and sad went away, and got replaced with feelings much more enjoyable. It made L have a marginally better mood.

Light had at first seemed a bit uncomfortable in the luxurious hotel, but nonetheless slept in one of it's spare rooms at nightfall. L, for the first time in days, slept soundly as well.

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, sorry it took so long! o I was just hooked on Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Also the fact that I'm actually grounded from the computer…Ha, actually, I was grounded before I typed up the first chapter! It's getting really hard to sneak on…lol. Anyways, it might take more than a week for the next chappy to come out! Eh heh… ==;

Thank you for reading! :D


End file.
